USA Today newspaper and network investigation on special interests writing a significant number of state legislative acts

State Legislatures are notorious for passing legislation putting unfunded mandates on localities and restricting the ability of cities to pass laws.  For example, concerning the environment, smoke free environments, business initiatives, etc.

-- "States Are Blocking Local Regulations, Often at Industry's Behest," New York Times, 2015
-- "Blue Cities Want to Make Their Own Rules. Red States Won't Let Them," New York times, 2017

It's not news that the American Legislative Exchange Council, a pro-business and anti-tax lobby figured out that they could have a lot of impact by focusing on state legislatures.

What is news is the depth of their success, as documented by USA Today in a two-year investigation that includes follow up, state-specific articles published in various Gannett Newspapers across the country.

From "What is ALEC? 'The most effective organization' for conservatives, says Newt Gingrich":

The American Legislative Exchange Council became the nation’s best-known "model"-bill factory over its four decades by providing more than fill-in-the-blank legislation.

The industry-sponsored group has weathered controversy and flourished because it also offers conservative Republican elected officials a social network, access to campaign donors and a blueprint for how to accelerate their political careers.

The networking takes place at ALEC's annual meetings, where the group fetes and entertains lawmakers and their families. Relationships are forged over drinks and dinners, where lawmakers sit alongside conservative luminaries and corporate chiefs.

“What ALEC does is more than provide the model bills, they provide relationships,” said Alexander Hertel-Fernandez, an assistant professor at Columbia University who has studied the influence of ALEC and other conservative groups on state legislatures. “They approach you when you are first elected and build these enduring social connections with you.”

By the end of each ALEC conference, attendees leave motivated to evangelize for conservative policies and equipped with ready-made legislation.

-- "Copy, Paste, Legislate: A visual introduction"--
-- "Used car dealers didn’t want to fix deadly defects, so they wrote a law to avoid it"
-- "Stand your ground, right to work and bathroom bills: 5 model bills that spark controversy"
-- "How we uncovered 10,000 times lawmakers introduced copycat model bills — and why it matters"
-- "What's the solution for model bills? Reveal who wrote them, critics say"

And coverage by other newspapers in the Gannett Newspaper chain includes:

-- "Bills banning local plastic bag regulations use ALEC model," Montgomery Advertiser
-- "Model bills have foothold in Montana Legislature," Great Falls Tribune
-- "Kentucky lawmakers didn't write these bills. But many are now laws," Louisville Courier-Journal
-- "Mississippi leads nation in filing legislation that other people wrote," Jackson Clarion Ledger
-- "Why some Iowa legislation looks a lot like bills crafted by special interest groups," Des Moines Register

For all the complaints about USA Today's origins as "McPaper" ("At 25, 'McPaper' Is All Grown Up," New York Times), these days, like the New York Times, it uses its position as a "national newspaper" to undertake investigations that have implications beyond a particular city or state.

Apparently, the investigation grew out of reporting over the years by the Phoenix-based Arizona Republic concerning the impact of measures of and involvement by ALEC in the state legislature ("Unchaining Democracy in Arizona," Blog for Arizona).